September 2011 Newsletter

Welcome to Wildmind’s latest monthly meditation newsletter. You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to our newsletter mailing list. You may unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions at the end of this email.

Online classes now registering

Feeling ready to invest in your own health and well-being? Want to make the effort to grow in a new direction? And begin feeling more at ease with yourself and your world? You can learn how with Wildmind’s meditation courses. They’re all personally guided by an experienced meditation teacher who provides ongoing feedback and support.

Join Bodhipaksa on a meditation workshop via Skype videoconferencing

On September 15, I’ll starting two new meditation workshops, using the videoconferencing capabilities of Skype. This is a unique opportunity to learn to calm your mind and bring more richness, joy, and meaning into your life.

The courses will run initially for six weeks, with an option to stay on to explore the skills of meditation in more depth for a further 12 weeks.

You can’t read much about the important quality of mindfulness without learning that it involves being nonjudgmental — that it involves setting aside discriminations and simply accepting our experience. But that’s not the whole story, says Bodhipaksa

Evolution has equipped us with brains that constantly scan for danger. This was useful in our caveman days, but nowadays our anxiety mostly detracts from the joy of living. Rick Hanson, author of The Buddha’s Brain, offers potent tools for finding peace.

It is difficult to let go of worries. The very nature of worrying seems to keep the mind busy, thinking of the concern over and over again. The more we think about the concern, the more anxious we feel, but there is a way to free the mind from worries. Saddhamala suggests eleven ways to break this vicious cycle.

It’s all too easy to focus on what’s wrong in our lives, and to overlook what’s positive, but science has shown that expressing gratitude can leave us feeling better for weeks afterward. Bodhipaksa explores the practice of expressing appreciation and of giving thanks.